Generally, a slide fastener is roughly classified into two kinds of typical types including a slide fastener of a normal type in which right and left engaged element rows are arranged and exposed in a tape surface side of a fastener tape, and a slide fastener of a concealed type in which the right and left engaged element rows can be concealed in such a manner as to be invisible from an outer side (a so-called concealed slide fastener). Among them, the concealed slide fastener is preferably used in the product such as the various clothes, shoes and the like, by taking advantage of not precluding a designability of the product with its concealment, and has further come to be used in a seat cover for a sitting seat of a motor vehicle, a train and the like, in recent years.
One example of the concealed slide fastener mentioned above is disclosed as one of embodiments in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-247279 (Patent Document 1).
A concealed slide fastener 60 according to the Patent Document 1 has a pair of right and left fastener stringers 61, and a slider (not shown) which can open and close the right and left fastener stringers 61, as shown in FIG. 9.
Each of the right and left fastener stringers 61 is provided with a band-like fastener tape 62, and a continuous element 63 which is sewn to the fastener tape 62 by using a fixing thread 64. The fastener tape 62 has a tape main body portion 62a, a tape bent section 62b which is extended in a tape width direction from one side edge of the tape main body portion 62a and is bent in a U-shape, and an element attaching portion 62c which is further extended from the tape bent section 62b and to which the continuous element 63 is sewn.
The continuous element 63 has an engagement head 63a, upper and lower leg portions 63b and 63c which are extended from the engagement head 63a, and a connecting portion 63d which connects between the adjacent fastener elements. Further, the continuous element 63 is structured such that a concave portion 63e accommodating a fixing thread 64 is formed on an upper surface of the upper leg portion 63b, and a height from a lower surface of the lower leg portion 63c to the upper leg portion 63b is set to a predetermined condition.
According to the concealed slide fastener 60 of the Patent Document 1 mentioned above, it is possible to bring the tape bent sections 62b in the right and left fastener tapes 62 into close contact with each other at a time of engaging the right and left continuous elements 63. In accordance with this, it is possible to conceal the continuous element 63 by the right and left tape bent sections 62b which are brought into close contact with each other so as to make it invisible from an outer surface (an exposed surface) side of the concealed slide fastener 60. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a design of the product from being affected by the continuous element 63.
Further, in the Patent Document 1, since the fixing thread 64 sewing the continuous element 63 to the fastener tape 62 is accommodated in the concave portion 63e formed in the upper leg portion 63b so as to be protected, it is possible to prevent the slider and the fixing thread 64 from being interfered at a time of sliding the slider. In accordance with this, it is possible to prevent a sliding performance of the slider from being lowered, and it is possible to prevent the fixing thread 64 from being worn or damaged by a sliding motion of the slider.
Note that, in the case that the concealed slide fastener 60 is attached to an attached body such as a seat cover or the like, the fastener tape 62 of the concealed slide fastener 60 and the fastener attaching portion of the attached body are sewn in such a manner that the product is arranged in an outer surface (an upper surface) side of the tape main body portion 62a of the fastener tape 62.
On the other hand, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3152100 (Patent Document 2), there is disclosed a slide fastener in which a covering band is attached to right and left continuous elements.
A slide fastener 70 according to the Patent Document 2 has a pair of fastener stringers 71 in which a coil-shaped continuous element 73 is attached to a pair of right and left fastener tapes 72, a covering body 74 which is attached to an upper surface side of the right and left continuous elements 73, and a slider (not shown) which is slidably arranged along the right and left continuous elements 73, as shown in FIG. 10.
Each of the right and left fastener tapes 72 has a tape main body portion 72a, a tape bent section 72b which is bent in a U-shape, and an element attaching portion 72c to which the continuous element 73 is sewn. The continuous element 73 is sewn to the element attaching portion 72c of the fastener tape 72 by using a fixing thread 75, and has an engagement head, upper and lower leg portions and a connecting portion. The covering body 74 is sewn to the element attaching portion 72c together with the continuous element 73 by the fixing thread 75.
The slide fastener 70 of the Patent Document 2 mentioned above is different from the concealed slide fastener 60 as in the Patent Document 1, and the continuous element 73 is arranged in the outer portion side of the sealed tape bent section 72b in the right and left fastener tapes 72 in the case of being attached to the product such as a seat cover or the like.
Further, in that case that the slide fastener 70 with the covering band 74 mentioned above is attached to the attached product such as a seat cover or the like, the fastener tape 72 of the concealed slide fastener 70 and the attached body 76 are sewn in such a manner that the attached body 76 such as a skin member or the like which is bent in a U-shape is pinched into an inner side of the tape bent section 72b of the fastener tape 72.
Accordingly, in the slide fastener 70 of the Patent Document 2, since the covering band 74 is further attached to an upper surface side of the continuous element 73 which is arranged in the outer portion side than the tape bent section 72b, it is possible to conceal the continuous element 73 so as to be invisible from the external portion. Further, since the covering band 74 is arranged at a position which is higher than a surface of the attached body 76, it is possible to apply a three-dimensional decoration to the fastener attached product.
Note that, in the Patent Document 2, it is necessary to sew the tape main body portion 72a of the fastener tape 72 and the attached body 76 in a back surface side (a side concealed to an inner portion) of the fastener attached product, and also in a position which is closer to the tape bent section 72b of the fastener tape 72, by using a sewing thread 77, at a time of sewing the fastener tape 72 of the fastener stringer 71 to the attached body 76. However, a description of the sewing method is not given in detail in the Patent Document 2, and in order to perform the sewing as mentioned above by using a normal sewing machine, a complicated sewing work is needed.